Getting Started

From VoIP.ms Wiki

This guide will help you to start using your Voip.ms account and its features, depending on the needs from your business or personal use. A recently created account can be related with a lot of questions, most of those questions can be answered by the Support staff via Live chat or Ticket system, however the information here is intended to make easier your first contact with VoIP.

Contents

Create your account

You can create an account for free, just follow this link Signup, you will access the sign up page, please enter the information required and click on submit. After signing up you will receive an email to confirm your email address and validate the account.

Remember to check on your spam box to ensure you received the email, if not, contact VoIP.ms at support@voip.ms

Once you have done this, have in mind what is exactly you want to do with your account. When you log in for the first time will be important to check the Account Settings so you can get familiar with the options offered to configure your line.

Adding Funds

In order to use VoIP.ms services for sending and receiving calls, you will need to add funds to your account, note this is a pre-paid service, the amount added will be reflected in the Account Balance, look for this option at the "Finances" link in the customer portal.

Adding funds is a simple procedure, click on Finances --> Add Funds in the customer portal. Make a payment with any of the available payment options such Credit Card or Paypal, the minimum to add is $25 USD. Contact VoIP.ms staff for the information needed to send a payment using Western Union or Bank Wire.

Remember that with VoIP.ms, the inbound and outbound calls are charged separately. For example, if you take a US DID number (for receiving calls), the cost can be $0.99 a month and $0.01 per minute. And all your outbound will still be charged as per the Termination Rates. For example, calling a US48 number is $0.0105 per minute.

Outgoing calls

If you intend to use VoIP.ms services for the purpose of making calls, you will need first a device or softphone to do this, you can use any type of software or device (unlocked) which support SIP or IAX2 protocols. Including free softphones such as X-lite, free open source PBX Asterisk, Voxalot, Trixbox distribution, VoIP ata's and VoIP phones, Hardware CISCO VoIP switches etc. Basically, any hardware or software that support one of the 2 protocols offered.

When you define what is the equipment you will use with the service, you need to configure it using the credentials provided when creating the account. You will receive an Account number ID that consist of six digits (e.g. 100000), along with this you have a password used when creating the account (you can change this password later in your Account Settings). The additional information missing now is the VoIP.ms server we will use to register, for that will be recommendable to send a ping to choose a server so you can have an idea about which server to use. Try to use the one with the less latency (lower ping), or the one closer to your geographical location.

Once registered first dial 4443 for "echo test" this tool is useful to test the quality of your line since is the only number you can call without adding funds. After doing this, you are ready to add funds and call to the desired destinations, remember to check the Termination rates inside the customer portal, so you can get a better idea about the service cost.

Incoming calls

To receive calls with VoIP.ms, you will need a DID number which works just as any regular telephone number used for receiving incoming calls, you can still receive calls via Sip Uri using a sub account, but for use most of the features included in the portal, will be necessary to get a DID number for the incoming calls and different options offered for this scenario.

You have different options to get a DID number, from local US & Canadian numbers to International or Toll free numbers. You will find also some interesting alternatives such as Virtual numbers or iNUMs. Refer to DID Numbers >> Order DID in the customer portal and pick the number that suits best for your needs.

Once you have a DID Number you can see it in your portal, listed under DID Numbers >> Manage DID(s). In this section you will have different options to configure for your number. The first recommended test is to route it to System >> Echo test, to make sure you received a number that is properly working.

You can find different options for the Routing of your number:

Main or sub account (this basically means you can route your number to a device or equipment previously configured).

Ring group (you have different devices registered, using different sub accounts, you can route one number to all of them with this feature).

Recordings, play a simple message for people to hear when calling your number.

Call back, (you can use for example your cellphone to make calls via VoIP.ms service).

DISA (works similar to call back but instead you have to enter a PIN number first).

Voicemail (give people calling you an option to leave a message, so you can contact them later).

System (Used for echo test and other responses, such a busy tone or message for unwanted calls).

Sub Accounts

Most VoIP.ms users that recently created an account, can probably have questions regarding sub accounts, for what are they and what is the benefit to create them?

With VoIP.ms you have the possibility to register more than one device (e.g. softphone or system) simultaneously, this can be achieved by using the sub accounts feature. Or maybe you wish to create sub accounts to hand to your relatives/friends, so they can use the VoIP.ms service to place and receive calls.

You can create as many sub accounts as you need, depending on how many devices you want to register at the same time. Please keep in mind that you do not need sub accounts if your devices are not logged in simultaneously. (For instance, you wouldn't need sub accounts if you use your main account at your PC at home, then turn the PC off, and log in from work and use a software phone, since the accounts are not registered to the server at the same time.)

Registering multiple devices only with the main account is not recommendable since can cause some connectivity issues.

When you create sub accounts, is like having additional accounts, but managed all together, for this you get a different User ID an password to register a device:.

For example:Sub Account : 100000_101Password: You set it on the sub accountSip Proxy : atlanta.voip.ms

Sub accounts are also useful to communicate our devices between them, say you have 2 sub accounts registered to Atlanta server, you can make calls directly between the sub accounts using an internal extension that can be configured, at the moment you create the sub account, this same internal extension can be used as a SIP URI.

You can always check the status of your ATA / softphones on the Portal Home Page (Main Menu >> Portal Home). If you look at your list of Sub Accounts near the bottom of the page, you will see the registration status.

International calls

Any call outside of USA48 or Canada is treated as an International call, for that reason you need to dial using the following code:

If you intend to use VoIP.ms services for International calls, note these are disabled by default, there is a purpose on this of course, which is enforce the security on your account, if you decide to enable them, VoIP.ms recommend highly to use the restrictions in the Account Settings:

Allow International calls.

Max. Call Time for US48/Canadian Calls (exceeding the time, will cause the call to hang up automatically).

Max. Call Time for International Calls (Max. Call Time for International Calls).

International Amount Restriction (If exceeds the maximum amount, the call will not be connected).

VoIP.ms currently offer new options that can help for the security, you can refer to Main Menu >> Account Settings >> Account Restrictions. These settings define the restrictions the system will use when you place calls to either USA48, Canada or International Numbers.

Note also that some destinations are locked by default for new accounts. In order to have full access to all international destinations, refer to Main Menu >> Portal Home >> Allowed International destinations, click on the link "Some Areas Locked (Click for details)" and follow the instructions.

Call detail records

In your VoIP.ms account you will notice a section called "CDR and Reports", here you can find your Call detail records which basically represent all the calls made and received in your account, the different filters available can make easier your search for a specific call.

Search for a specific range of dates

Filter calls by disposition in the CDR (answered, no answered, busy, failed).

Support staff

You need to contact VoIP.ms staff? There is a section for this in the customer portal, you can open tickets from there and also see all the tickets you have previously created. There is also a link for the configuration samples and a direct link to the Wiki page.

Support staff can help you with the trouble shooting in different scenarios, but you can also find useful information here:

The section called "Feature Request" is the one you can use to report things that are not currently available with VoIP.ms service but you think will be good to have them in the future, like specific tools in the portal.

Rates section

You want to know how much you will pay when calling to a specific number? You need to visit the Rates section in the customer portal, and you have some fields that will make your search quicker:

Search country (make your search by looking at the different rates for a specific country in the termination list).

Phone number prefix (look for a specific number, you will get the rate for the prefix that match the number).

Value & Premium (you can choose between Value and Premium route for the Canada, International & Toll free calls). The US route is only available on the Premium route with a rate of $0.01 (one cent) per minute.

Notes

With us the INCOMING and OUTGOING calls are charged and handled SEPARATELY, the incoming calls are charged depending on the plan of the DID and the outgoing calls will be charged always per minute depending on the termination of the calls
Also note that is not necessary to have a DID to start placing outgoing calls, a DID number is meant for receive calls only and by registering correctly your device
you can start making calls.

In order to receive calls properly the registration server and the POP of the DID number must match, i.e. If your device/softphone is registered to dallas.voip.ms the POP of the DID must have the Point of Presense to Dallas as well.